National building code could see the end of elevated houses and lourves in Top End

A push to standardise building codes across the country could spell the end for an iconic Top End home design. SEE THE PROPOSED CHANGES

A NEW national push to standardise building codes threatens to kill the Top End’s iconic elevated houses and smash the use of louvres in Territory homes.

The new rules contained in National Construction Codes and supported by the Territory Government address issues around environment and access – but in the process will seriously change the size and shape of Territory house design, particularly in the humid Top End.

The proposed changes to access arrangements means future home builds will require disability access to the front door, meaning ramps replacing stairs. Space will also be required to manouver a wheelchair or other device.

The environmental step-up to seven star home energy ratings will kill the cross-flow cooling model employed by some local house designers and builders and transform most homes into the domestic equivalent of an Esky.

Housing Industry Association executive director Luis Espinoza said the changes are currently under consideration but it is likely they will be implemented in 2024.

“Ramps could be a thing of the future in every house that requires mobility around the front of the house for a person in a wheelchair, for instance, to have the space to turn around,” he said. “Elevated homes will be impacted in a big way. Elevated homes will be forced to have a bathroom in the ground floor apart from whatever you’ve got upstairs.

“The look and the aesthetics of houses here in the Northern Territory will change, as it will all around Australia.

“Bringing homes up to a seven star energy rating is really just talking more and more about air-conditioning, basically.

“We can forget about cross-flow ventilation and passive cooling of buildings up here and louvres will probably disappear from the tropical design aspect.

“We are very worried and the Minister has decided that’s the way to go for the Northern Territory. It’s the end user, the client, that’s going to have to pay for it.”

“Houses may be unaffordable now but it will be almost impossible for first-home buyers to get into the market.”

Infrastructure Minister Eva Lawler said the focus of the changes were people with disabilities and carers.

“The Territory Government is working towards improving the lives of Territorians who are ageing or living with disability and those who support them. We want all Territorians to own a piece of the Territory which fits their needs,,” she said.

“We recognise the popularity of elevated houses in the Top End and this is why sensible exemptions will be in place to allow them to continue to be built. Exemptions will also include consideration for lots with steep slopes and small lots.

“The up-front inclusion of these features will cost around one per cent of the building cost, far less than the cost to retrofit, and will help facilitate elderly Territorians and those living with disability to stay in their homes longer.

“The Territory Government considered the costs and potential benefits and considers it necessary to support a regulatory approach for this matter, as the voluntary approach has not seen significant increases in accessible housing stock.”